Soil remediation through beneficial microbes

ABSTRACT

A method and composition are provided for soil remediation. A method is provided for breaking down an organic chemical agent, comprising providing a plurality of sporulated microbes to the chemical agent. A composition is provided for breaking down an organic chemical agent, comprising a plurality of sporulated microbes.

The present application claims priority as a non-provisional to U.S. Provisional Application 62/986,499, filed on Mar. 6, 2020, presently pending. The present application claim priority as a continuation in part to U.S. application Ser. No. 16/849,823, filed on Apr. 15, 2020, presently pending, which in turn claimed priority as a non-provisional to U.S. Provisional Application 62/986,499, filed on Mar. 6, 2020, presently pending. The contents of the application are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for soil remediation. More specifically, the invention relates to systems and methods for breakdown of agricultural products using beneficial microbes.

SUMMARY

A further understanding of the functional and advantageous aspects of the invention can be realized by reference to the following detailed description and drawings.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a method and composition for the breakdown of chemical agents using beneficial microbes.

Thus by one broad aspect of the present invention, a method for breaking down an organic chemical agent is provided, comprising providing a plurality of sporulated microbes to the chemical agent.

By a further broad aspect of the present invention, a composition for breaking down an organic chemical agent is provided, comprising a plurality of sporulated microbes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments disclosed herein will be more fully understood from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this application, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a brochure illustrating an embodiment of a composition and method of use of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a table and graphical representation of results from a microbial treatment of organic chemical agents as an example of the method of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description and drawings are illustrative of the disclosure and are not to be construed as limiting the disclosure. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the present disclosure. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order to provide a concise discussion of embodiments of the present disclosure.

Various apparatuses or processes will be described below to provide examples of embodiments of the treatment method and system disclosed herein. No embodiment described below limits any claimed embodiment, and any claimed embodiments may cover processes or apparatuses that differ from those described below. The claimed embodiments are not limited to apparatuses or processes having all of the features of any one apparatus or process described below or to features common to multiple or all of the apparatuses or processes described below. It is possible that an apparatus or process described below is not an embodiment of any claimed invention.

Furthermore, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the embodiments described herein.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein are intended to have the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill in the art. Unless otherwise indicated, such as through context, as used herein, the following terms are intended to have the following meanings:

“Organic chemical agent” as used herein means any carbon chain containing chemical, including but not limited to herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and petroleum products.

“Microbes” as used herein include bacteria, fungi, algae, protozoa, and viruses.

Organic chemical agents can be broken down by microbes, including a mixture of beneficial bacteria. The mixture of beneficial bacteria can include a first set of bacteria that break down the chemical agent and a further set of bacteria that, for example, break down the products of the first set of bacteria. This mixture of a plurality of bacteria may be referred to as a consortium of bacteria because the bacterial mixture works together more effectively than if it were added in parts. The effectiveness or efficacy of the bacterial consortium refers to the effectiveness of the bacterial consortium at breaking down the organic chemical agent. Likewise, the efficacy of the organic chemical agent refers to the effectiveness of the organic chemical agent at treating its target; for example, the efficacy of a herbicide at eliminating weeds. In order to stably formulate beneficial bacteria, the bacteria are sporulated to provide a stable format that is resistant to damage and is not active until distribution, for example, distribution on plants or soil.

Sporulated bacteria form in response to inhospitable conditions, such as a severe lack of nutrients, that would be lethal for the normal (vegetative) form of the bacteria. The bacteria respond by producing and activating a protein that promotes the transcription of genes required for the conversion of the actively growing bacterium to a spore. During sporulation, the bacterial genome is duplicated, and the second copy of the genome is enveloped together with some cytoplasm within an in-growth of the bacterial cell wall. The resultant daughter cell is stabilized by the formation of another membrane layer, a peptidoglycan material between the two membrane layers, and an outer coat of proteins, thereby forming an almost impregnable sphere. The mother cell dies and degrades, freeing the spore, which remains dormant until the environment becomes hospitable and the spore transforms back into a vegetative cell. Sporulated bacteria are stable throughout a range of conditions, which provides an improved and advantageous format for the present application in the present disclosure.

Bacteria are induced to be in the sporulated state by the culture at high density (for example, at 1×10¹¹ CFU/Gallon) in a media lacking nutrients, such as Tryptone, Soy, and Proteins. The sporulated bacteria can be activated to come out of the dormant state in the presence of appropriate nutrients for the sporulated bacteria and/or in the presence of a higher pH.

Organic chemical agents may be an agricultural agent, a petroleum agent, an industrial site agent, or a metabolite or breakdown product of the chemical agent. Agricultural agents are, for example, herbicides, insecticides, or fungicides. Herbicides may include glyphosate, dicamba, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (also called 2,4-D), atrazine, fomesafen, triazine, or sulfonylurea herbicides; and insecticides may include neonicotinoids such as imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam. Organic chemical agents may occur for example, in agricultural settings, railroad right of ways, laneways, home and garden settings, golf courses, sign boulevards, road shoulders, powerline greenways, gas line right of ways, and water sources.

The treatment of a chemical agent may be done by adding the mixture of sporulated microbes to the organic chemical agent prior to distribution on plants or soil. The sporulated bacteria do not degrade the organic chemical agent prior to distribution because they remain in the dormant state. The sporulated bacteria remain dormant in the presence of the chemical agent until approximately 24 hours after the distribution of the mixture onto, for example, plants, such as agricultural crops or onto the soil. The lag time of approximately 24 hours for the sporulated bacteria to become active allows the chemical agent, which is typically active within one hour of application, to achieve its function, for example, as a herbicide or insecticide, before being degraded by the beneficial bacteria regenerated from the sporulated bacteria. The efficacy of the bacterial consortium at breaking down the chemical agent after activation is retained in the mixture because the bacteria is sporulated and thus stable. Likewise, the efficacy of the chemical agent is retained in the mixture because while in the mixture, the bacteria remains sporulated and inactive and thus does not break down the chemical agent.

Alternatively, the treatment of a chemical agent can be done by distributing the microbe mixture onto plants after the plants have been treated with the chemical agent. For example, an agricultural crop that is resistant to the chemical agent may be treated with the chemical agent, followed by a distribution of the microbe mixture to remove residual chemical agent or the metabolites of the chemical agent.

A further method is to treat the chemical agent by distributing the microbe mixture on soil that has been treated with the chemical agent or on soil that is contaminated with the chemical agent.

In further examples, the sporulated microbes may be distributed on sidewalks, parks, residential lawns and driveways, sports fields, golf courses, or in water sources, such as water wells, wherein the site of distribution is a non-intended area for the chemical agent.

As a still further example, the sporulated microbes may be mixed with an agent, such as a drying agent, for spill cleanup to distribute on a chemical agent spill. Examples of drying agents are cat litter, corn cobs, and foam spray. The sporulated microbes may be impregnated into the drying agent in the packaging of the mixture before distribution of the mixture over the chemical agent spill.

The sporulated microbes may be in a pellet, powder, liquid, or granule format. The format allows a high concentration of the sporulated microbes that is sufficient to break down the chemical agent.

In one embodiment, the sporulated microbes are provided at a high enough concentration to break down the chemical agent on a plant crop, resulting in a reduction of the active form of the chemical agent in the plant food product.

In a further embodiment, the sporulated microbes are provided at a concentration that allows replanting of a crop in the treatment area after a set time, without risk of injury to the crop by the chemical agent or by the microbe mixture. The set time is shorter than if there was no treatment with the sporulated microbes. For example, the concentration of microbes may allow replanting a crop one month after treatment with the sporulated microbe mixture. The concentration of sporulated microbes may be determined by the amount of chemical agent that needs to be broken down, the type of chemical agent to be broken down, and the soil type that is being treated. As one example, the sporulated microbes may be in a solution with a concentration of at least 1×10¹¹ CFU/Gallon.

The sporulated microbes may be in a liquid format, at a pH lower than 8.5 or ideally at a pH between 4.5 and 5.5. In this format, the sporulated microbes do not degrade the organic chemical. Thus they can be mixed with the organic chemical agent prior to activation of the sporulated microbes without degradation of the organic chemical. This provides a useful format to package an organic chemical, such as a herbicide or insecticide, together with the dormant sporulated microbes, prior to application, for example, to agricultural crops.

After distribution onto, for example, plants or soil, the activated bacteria degrade the chemical agent by breaking down the carbon chain of the chemical agent or other covalent bonds that are metabolic targets of the active bacteria. Breakdown of the chemical bonds of the chemical agent may be carried out by enzymes secreted by the active bacteria. A mixture of at least two bacterial species is used to provide a broader spectrum of active proteins and enzymes to metabolize the organic chemical agent. The bacterial mixture also works synergistically such that one bacterial species may degrade metabolic products created by another bacterial species. In addition, enzymes secreted by one bacterial species may target degradation products of the organic chemical agent. Thus the combination of bacterial species provides greater activity than a simple additive advantage of individual species.

The sporulated microbes maybe be gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria that metabolize or break down a carbon bond or a covalent bond. The sporulated bacteria may be motile bacteria that metabolize or break down a carbon bond or a covalent bond. Further the sporulated bacteria may be Bacillus bacteria that metabolize or break down a carbon bond or a covalent bond.

The sporulated microbes may be a mixture of at least two of the following bacterial species: Bacillus licheniformis; Bacillus coagulans; Bacillus subtilis; Bacillus pumilus; Bacillus megaterium; and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens.

In a further embodiment, cellulose- and lignan-composting bacteria may be included in the microbe mixture to break down crop waste such as dying material after a crop has been harvested and/or to break down weed waste.

The format provides an opportunity to premix other products into the formulation to provide an optimized formulation. An optimized sporulated microbe formulation includes the sporulated microbes and other ingredients that benefit the microbial activity, such as a nutrient, an extract, a sugar, or an activating agent of the sporulated microbes to provide a food source for the microbes and improve microbial performance.

An example format of the present disclosure is provided in FIG. 1.

An example of the treatment of a variety of herbicides and insecticides is presented in FIG. 2. Chemical treatments, including the herbicides: glyphosate; Dicamba; 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (also called 2,4-D); Atrazine; and Fomesafen herbicide; and the insecticides: Imidacloprid; Clothianidin; and Thiamethoxam, were applied to the soil at an undiluted concentration (100%) or diluted as recommended by the manufacturer (Application Field Rate). After the soil was treated and dry (approximately 45 minutes after chemical treatment), the sporulated microbes were added. Samples were taken 45 days following treatment and analyzed for residual chemical. For each chemical and for both the undiluted chemical and the diluted chemical, the microbes are able to reduce the level of the organic chemical by at least 50% in 45 days.

A composition for the treatment of an organic chemical agent is made up of a consortium of sporulated microbes. In one embodiment, the composition may be a mixture of sporulated microbes and the organic chemical agent to be treated, both of which retain their efficacy when combined in the mixture. The mixture of sporulated microbes may be a solution with a density of at least 1×10¹¹ CFU/Gallon. The microbes are dormant in the composition, but able to be activated when the pH rises above 5.5 and/or when the bacterial spores are exposed to nutrients. The microbes in the composition may contain at least two of: Bacillus licheniformis; Bacillus coagulans; Bacillus subtilis; Bacillus pumilus; Bacillus megaterium; and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens.

In a further embodiment, the composition may include cellulose- and lignan-composting bacteria in the microbe mixture to break down dying material after a crop has been harvested and/or to break down weed waste.

The composition may also include a nutrient, an extract, or a sugar to improve microbial performance. An example would be to add seaweed extract.

While the applicant's teachings described herein are in conjunction with various embodiments for illustrative purposes, it is not intended that the applicant's teachings be limited to such embodiments. On the contrary, the applicant's teachings described and illustrated herein encompass various alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, without departing from the embodiments, the general scope of which is defined in the appended claims. Except to the extent necessary or inherent in the processes themselves, no particular order to steps or stages of methods or processes described in this disclosure is intended or implied. In many cases, the order of process steps may be varied without changing the purpose, effect, or import of the methods described. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for breaking down an organic chemical agent, comprising providing a plurality of sporulated microbes to the chemical agent, the sporulated microbes having a microbe efficacy, and the chemical agent having a chemical agent efficacy.
 2. The method as in claim 1, wherein the chemical agent comprises at least one of: an agricultural agent; a petroleum agent; an industrial site agent; and a metabolite of the chemical agent.
 3. The method as in claim 1, wherein the chemical agent comprises at least one of a herbicide, an insecticide, and a fungicide.
 4. The method as in claim 1, wherein the chemical agent comprises at least one of: glyphosate; dicamba; 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid; Atrazine; fomesafen; triazine; sulfonylurea; imidacloprid; clothianidin; and thiamethoxam.
 5. The method as in claim 1, wherein providing the plurality of sporulated microbes to the chemical agent comprises providing a mixture of the sporulated microbes and the chemical agent.
 6. The method as in claim 5, further wherein the mixture retains the microbe efficacy and the chemical agent efficacy.
 7. The method as in claim 1, wherein providing the plurality of sporulated microbes comprises distribution on at least one of: a plurality of plants after the plurality of plants has been treated with an application of the organic chemical agent; a soil that has been treated with an application of the organic chemical agent; a soil that contains the organic chemical agent; a sidewalk; a park; a residential lawn; a residential driveway; a sports field; a golf course; and a. a water source.
 8. The method as in claim 1, wherein the plurality of sporulated microbes comprises at least one of: a pellet; a powder; a liquid; and granules.
 9. The method as in claim 1, wherein providing the plurality of sporulated microbes comprises providing a concentration of sporulated microbes sufficient to break down the chemical agent.
 10. The method as in claim 1, wherein providing the plurality of sporulated microbes comprises providing a concentration sufficient to reduce an active form of the chemical agent in a plant food product.
 11. The method as in claim 9, wherein providing a concentration comprises providing a concentration that allows planting a crop after a set time without risk of an injury to the crop.
 12. The method as in claim 11, wherein the plurality of sporulated microbes comprises a concentration of sporulated microbes based on at least one of: an amount of the chemical agent; a type of chemical agent; and a soil type.
 13. The method as in claim 1, wherein the plurality of sporulated microbes comprises a solution with a concentration of sporulated microbes at least 1×10¹¹ CFU/Gallon.
 14. The method as in claim 1, wherein the plurality of sporulated microbes comprises a solution with a pH lower than 8.5.
 15. The method as in claim 1, wherein the sporulated microbes comprise gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria that metabolize a carbon bond or a covalent bond.
 16. The method as in claim 1, wherein the sporulated microbes comprise motile bacteria that metabolize a carbon or a covalent bond.
 17. The method as in claim 1, wherein the sporulated microbes comprise Bacillus bacteria that metabolize a carbon or a covalent bond.
 18. The method as in claim 17, wherein the sporulated microbes comprise at least two of: a. Bacillus licheniformis; b. Bacillus coagulans; c. Bacillus subtilis; d. Bacillus pumilus; e. Bacillus megaterium; and f. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens.
 19. The method as in claim 15, further wherein the sporulated microbes comprise cellulose and lignan composting bacteria, for breaking down at least one of crop waste and weed waste.
 20. The method as in claim 1, wherein providing the plurality of sporulated microbes further comprises providing at least one of a nutrient, an extract, a seaweed, or a sugar as a food source for the microbes.
 21. A composition for breaking down an organic chemical agent, comprising a plurality of sporulated microbes.
 22. The composition as in claim 21, further comprising the organic chemical agent.
 23. The composition as in claim 21, wherein the sporulated microbes comprise a solution with a density of at least 1×10¹¹ CFU/Gallon.
 24. The composition of claim 21, wherein the plurality of sporulated microbes comprises at least two of: a. Bacillus licheniformis; b. Bacillus coagulans; c. Bacillus subtilis; d. Bacillus pumilus; e. Bacillus megaterium; and f. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens.
 25. The composition of claim 21, further comprising cellulose and lignan composting bacteria, for breaking down at least one of a crop waste and a weed waste.
 26. The composition of claim 21, further comprising at least one of a nutrient, an extract, or a sugar as a food source for the microbes. 